Paige Bueckers realized she had big shoes to fill when she switched from her signature braids to a slicked-back style to give her scalp some rest. Why? Because the league had just lost a legendary slick-backer in Diana Taurasi to retirement. And all the comparisons, dating back as early as 2013, didn’t help. “Remember the name: Paige Bueckers. 6th grade, think Diana Taurasi. Best 6th grade G I’ve ever seen,” Gary Knox tweeted back then. And it all came full circle as Bueckers wrapped up her college career at UConn with the storybook ending every Husky fan had hoped for, and even surpassed Diana Taurasi on the school’s all-time scoring list.
Over the five years he coached Paige Bueckers, even Geno Auriemma has frequently drawn comparisons between her and his former star, Diana Taurasi. “Obviously there’s a lot of similarities,” Auriemma said ahead of their Final Four game against UCLA earlier this year. “There’s so many differences, as well. In the best sense of the word, number one, they’re both exceptional con artists. They can spin things so that it goes their way about 99.9% of the time.”
So, it is clear that the Paige Bueckers–Diana Taurasi comparisons have been around for a while, but not everybody is on board with that narrative. Even Auriemma, despite all the subtle comparisons, has made that clear once. And most recently, it is Mercury forward, Alyssa Thomas, who offered a more grounded take when asked about the comparison. “I mean, I don’t like to compare anybody. I think everybody brings their own flare to it… she [Paige] plays so poised, calm, and knows how to get to her spots,” said the 6x All-Star.
Alyssa Thomas told @jennarortiz that she doesn’t want to compare Paige Bueckers and Diana Taurasi’s respective games.
“I think everybody brings their own flare to it… she (Paige) plays so poised, calm, and knows how to get to her spots.” pic.twitter.com/XnI29tdSBs
— Hayden Cilley (@HaydenCilley) July 6, 2025
Fair enough. Even Taurasi had once hinted at that poise and clarity, saying, “Oh, freshman Paige has way more confidence than I did. I was in the doghouse. I was like the water girl. I was doing chores for the seniors. We were in way different boats. … But, Paige, the level she’s playing at right now as a freshman. It’s incredible.”
But, again, while comparisons are tempting but one should also take them with a grain of salt. After all, as Auriemma clearly clarified way back in 2021, “I don’t like to compare players from different eras..I think that’s usually a dangerous thing because it does a little bit of disservice to both kids. Diana was Diana, and there will never be another one like her.”
Disservice. Dangerous. That’s exactly what Bueckers has echoed in her “comparison” conversations, too. She has made it clear she’s not in the business of chasing anyone else’s highlight reel. Reflecting on her mental approach, she said the key has been “running my own race, not running a race of comparison.” In her words, “comparison is the thief of joy”- and frankly, who has time to worry about someone else’s stats when you’ve got your own legacy to build?
Yet, that hasn’t stopped Paige Bueckers from swooning over Diana Taurasi, and honestly, it makes all the sense in the world. Her biggest wish? That Taurasi had stayed in the league just one more year so she could have had the chance to face off against her idol. But if there’s one page she’s truly taken from Taurasi’s book, it’s about careful longevity. “She had a great long career… it’s something that I want to do as well,” Bueckers recently said. “So follow her footsteps and how much she takes care of herself”. Of course, DT has returned the love time and again.
Diana Taurasi believes Paige Bueckers will become the best player in the league
Very few players in basketball history boast a resume as stacked as Diana Taurasi’s. Across her legendary 20-year WNBA career, she had two Finals MVPs, a regular season MVP, and five scoring titles. Oh, and let’s not forget that she’s still the only player in league history to score over 10,000 points. And that’s just the W! On the international stage, she’s been just as dominant! She has a record six Olympic gold medals for Team USA.
So when someone like DT says, “And the one thing I know about Paige is she’s so grounded, so patient, and she’s so prepared. She’s learned that in the last four or five years, and all those things that she learned at Connecticut are going to change the way you look at that team. One day, she’s going to end up being the best player in the league for sure,” you know that’s about as high as praise can get.
It’s without a doubt a massive honor for Paige, but to truly claim the title of the league’s best, she’ll have to reach the level of players like A’ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier. Can she get there? Absolutely! But staying healthy will be the key. Thanks to Diana Taurasi, Bueckers knows that already.
The post 6x WNBA All-Star Hesitates Comparing Paige Bueckers with Diana Taurasi 31 Hours Before Wings vs Mercury appeared first on EssentiallySports.